Montu was an ancient god, his name meaning nomad, originally a manifestation of the scorching effect of the sun, Ra, and as such often appeared under the epithet Monthu-Ra. The destructiveness of this characteristic led to him gaining characteristics of a warrior, and eventually becoming a war-god. When Thebes gained prominence, and thus its patron god Amun became more significant, changing his wife to Mut, Monthu was chosen as the necessary child to satisfy Mut's strong maternal desire to adopt, since he represented strength, virility, and victory.

Due to the association of raging bulls with strength and war, Montu was also said to manifest himself in a white bull with a black face, which was referred to as the Bakha. Egypt's greatest general-kings called themselves Mighty Bulls, the sons of Monthu. In the famous narrative of the Battle of Kadesh, Ramesses II was said to have seen the enemy and "raged at them like Montu, Lord of Thebes".

In Ancient Egyptian art, he was pictured as a falcon-headed or bull-headed man who wore the sun-disc, with two plumes on his head, the falcon representing the sky, and the bull representing strength and war. He would hold various weaponry, including scimitars, bows and arrows, and knives in his hands

During the New Kingdom, large and impressive temples to Monthu were constructed in Armant. In fact, the Greek name of the city of Armant was Hermonthis, meaning the land of Monthu. Earlier temples to Monthu include one located adjacent to the Middle Kingdom fortress of Uronarti below the Second Cataract of the Nile, dating to the nineteenth century BCE.

Mentuhotep, a name given to several pharaohs in the Middle Kingdom, means "Menthu is satisfied".